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So i got one of these for xmas so I could turn off my hall lights when I get home without pulling out my phone. It's cool, though the speech recognition isn't fond of some of the custom commands I created. 'End' kept being heard as 'Add'. 'Guests' completely flummoxed the damn thing.

Another weird thing is some times it'll accept a command and then not do it. Or, in the case of a command that has two parts (lights) it only turns off half of them. Very odd.

Still, I've become comfortable enough with it that I wouldn't mind another in the living room.

Location: Iowa, how long can this be? Does it really ruin the left column spacing?

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Feb 6, 2018, 10:10 AM

I picked up a Honeywell thermostat open box on eBay for $50 and hooked it up to the garage heater. It has an Alexa skill that allows direct control without a smart hub or something in between.

Last month's electricity bill was horrendous, but I was running the heater via its dial, which holds a temperature all day. Hopefully with the thermostat allowing it to cool down during the day my usage won't be so bad. And if I need the temperature pumped up for some reason, Alexa can do it.

I'm not sure if I want a smart home or a semi-smart home. I do want some "smart devices," such as a camera on my front door (but no subscription) and some way of turning on/off my lights, but nothing else. Most definitely don't want anything with an always-on microphone or a camera that tracks my face and does something on a trigger.